David Biello opines that Tesla Motors has received more than 325,000 preorders for its new Model 3 electric car even though it will not be available for at least another year. That almost equals the 340,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids now on American roads. Tesla has advertised its vehicles as having zero emissions, helping fuel the new sedan, but that is not necessarily true. Although the battery-powered car itself does not produce any emissions, the power plant that generates the electricity used to charge those batteries probably does. Low emissions, much less zero emissions, are only... More →

A basic misunderstanding skews the entire climate debate. Experts on both sides claim that protecting Earth’s climate will force a trade-off between the environment and the economy. This article tries to put things in perspective.

Jeff Deyette reports that the near-term timeline and trajectory for states to make cuts in power plant emissions under the EPA proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) is achievable, according to a new UCS analysis released today. In fact, a majority of states (31) have already made key clean energy decisions that will get them most or all of the way to meeting the CPP near-term (and non-binding) 2020 benchmarks. Ironically, this list includes nearly all of the 14 states that are now suing the EPA to stop the CPP. Despite their negative rhetoric, these states are disproving their own case and successfu... More →

Michael LePage reports that countries in the EU, including the UK, are throwing away money by subsidizing the burning of wood for energy, according to an independent report. While burning some forms of wood waste can indeed reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in practice the growing use of wood energy in the EU is increasing rather than reducing emissions, the new report concludes.

Overall, burning wood for energy is much worse in climate terms than burning gas or even coal, but loopholes in the way emissions are counted are concealing the damage being done. It is not a great use of pu... More →

John Englander opines that the leaders of the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth, are arguing that nuclear energy is too expensive and dangerous. They conclude it is time to divert all resources to renewable energy, particularly solar and wind. (But of course they would take such a position, being paid as commercial adversaries of nuclear power and paid supporters of wind and solar energy companies).

For the record, Englander fully endorses going 100% renewable energy just as soon as that is practical. But three significant points need to be made (and they are serious... More →